As Told by China: The Tenth Day, In the Endless Eye
by gnbman
Summary: Based on "Salvage the Bones," by Jesmyn Ward. The is chapter ten from the novel as told from the perspective of China, Skeet's loyal pit bull. My goal was to capture the essence of her presence in this chapter, and to explore her relationship with her master and with Esch.


Based on chapter ten of _Salvage the Bones_ by Jesmyn Ward.

THE TENTH DAY:

IN THE ENDLESS EYE

AS TOLD BY CHINA

I stand still even though the water is too hot because Master has told me to. He pours it over me and rubs with his hands and pushes on my back and shoulders, and that feels better. I keep my left ear up because Master is standing behind me, so if he leaves, I'll know, because I can't see him right now. I feel good after we do this, but I lose my smell and it takes time to get it back, and I need it so everybody will know that I'm here and this is our home. I hear one of the Others shout from inside their place but I forget about it because Master is still here.

After we are done, Master pats my head and says my word, "China," so I know I did good. I see him now, so I walk to the opening of my house and smell, and I smell cars and waste and trees, but I smell a lot of water and salt. It makes me feel less good, but Master is still here, so my tail stays up. Air hits me in the face hard, and I can smell a lot of things that I'm not used to, but they're far away, so they don't matter. There is a lot of water in the air.

Master begins to pick up things in my house and take them away and put them outside. I sniff each thing as he passes, and they have my smell and dirt. I want to get my smell back on me, so I lay down in my soft place and twist while I watch him. Master gets my bowl and takes it away, too, so I wait for him to bring it back with food even though I am not hungry. I tilt my head and wonder since it isn't food time. He says the "stand" word when he gets back, so I do, and he gets the soft place and takes it away. I smell the wetness where the soft place was and then go out and find another place to sit. My smell is in the air now as Master hits the soft place with a stick.

The Others are outside, too. I cock my ear and listen to them in case they make any of my words. They make noises like Master sometimes, but I don't need to listen to them because they're not Master. I hear something. Chickens.

I see them and forget about the water in the air and remember that chickens are fun, so I run to them and chase them and listen to them squawk, and I'm happy. If I could, I would grab one and shake it until it stopped squawking, and then I would go back and watch Master some more. I think one of the Others says something, but I don't care because of the chickens, but then I hear my word. The Master wants me to stop, so now I want to stop. He makes a loud noise with the stick, and that means to hurry, so I go back and sit down again.

Master is louder than usual, and I worry at first because I don't understand, but it's ok because then Master is excited and I get excited, too. I think that Master might want me to walk with him, so I stand beside him and wait, and then I smell something new. One of the others smells different as she walks up to us. It is a human smell, but it smells familiar somehow, so I tilt my head and smell more to try to see what it is, but it doesn't change. I don't know what it means, so I get ready in case I need to fight for Master. The air is moving fast.

Master jumps and runs to my house, so I do too, and he rubs my neck again and tells me the "stay" word, but the soft place is gone, so I find another place in my house to lay down, but then the pups find me. I don't like them. I let them get close to me because I have to, but I don't want them here. They bite and make me itch and suck too hard when I just want to lay down, and when I try to stop them, they don't understand. I growl, but Master made me not hurt them, so I don't. I try to move away while still lying down.

Master comes back smelling like chickens and says the "come with me" word, and we run away. I am happy and we run through the trees, and sometimes I want to stop and smell, but Master doesn't stop, so I keep going because I'm happier when I chase him. He stops and turns, and I turn too, and I catch up and run beside him and nip at his ankle because I'm here beside him, and I want him to know. We run and chase each other, and I can keep up because I don't feel bad like I once did. When I felt bad, I didn't want to walk with Master, but he told me to, so then I did want to. I struggled and breathed hard but slow, and then I felt better later because Master was with me.

He slows down, and we go back to our place, and I follow him, but he tells me to stay out and goes in the Others' place. I suddenly hear people being loud, and I get back up and look—but don't leave, because Master made me stay—and see one of the Others writhing on top of a Stranger. She is fighting him like I like to fight and he is on the bottom and screaming, so I know he will lose. The people don't usually fight the way I do, and it is exciting, so I watch and flick my tail once. Even though she is not Master, the Other lives at our place, so I would run and grab and help her kill the Stranger because it is fun, but Master told me to stay, so I only watch. The Other gets up and moves away, like I do when the Master gives the "stop" word. I catch the Stranger's scent now, and it is the one I don't trust, but he is leaving. Sometimes this Other smells like that Stranger, like I do after a fight.

Now, I want to act, to fight, because I am excited, and when Master comes out, he knows it when he looks at me. The chickens are still there, and maybe it will be okay to kill them this time. I ask him with my tail. He stops moving and stands straight like I do. I look into his eyes because I know it's ok to look into Master's eyes, and he looks back. We turn at the same time and look towards the chickens. I hear my Master's breathing, and he says the "kill" word. I run as fast as I can to the closest chicken and grab it before it knows I am there.

* * *

I take the chicken to a place in the trees where nobody is around and shake it and twist it some more. It was fun. I'm not sure it's dead, but I hear two Others coming towards me, so I drop it anyway; it is my kill, but I don't want to fight the Others for it. I turn and roll in the chicken's blood so that I'll smell like its death. I rub my nose and eyes in it. The bigger of the others says something, and I'm done with the chicken anyway, so I bark to let them know what I've finished. I wait a second for them to challenge me and then go back to show Master.

He is happy, too, and he gives me my word, but it is quiet, and he turns away quickly and brings me back into my house. He gets the pups, and I'm unsure, but I follow him back out, and he lets me come with him into the Other's place. It is very different. It's dark and dry and smells like nothing but people, but I can't smell the water so much in here. I turn my ears back slightly but don't slow down. When we get to a place that smells more like Master, he settles down and pats beside him, so I jump onto a big soft place and lie down. I barely have to circle to find a comfortable place, and I set my head on Master's leg. He and I stare at the opening of this place, waiting for something. It is quiet in here, and I can hear the pups too well.

Finally, I hear some Others come, and they begin talking to Master. He is tense, and I turn and lick his chin because I know the Others won't really hurt him and that it's ok, but he stops me. I taste chicken blood. Master shouts and stands up, so I move out of his way and watch while he and all the Others yap at each other. Their sounds blend together quickly, and I suddenly smell the salty water again in a small blast of air from behind me. The people eventually get quiet, and I listen to the fast air outside as Master puts the pups beside me. I don't like them, but it's ok because Master is here.

* * *

 **A/N** : I chose to write China because she is one of the most intriguing characters in _Salvage the Bones_ , but also, for understandable reasons, the most mysterious. I realize that every time one sets out to write from the perspective of an animal, it takes a great deal of artistic liberties—considering that they don't even think in English—but my goal here was to capture the essence of China's presence during the hurricane preparation and, more importantly, to shed some light on her relationship with Skeetah from her point of view.

I think this scene was a good choice because while China is present and important in it, it isn't directly focused on her. If I had chosen a scene like the dog fight or the birth, I would have ended up repeating a lot of what is said in the novel. The chapter also begins and ends with China, from Skeetah cleaning her to her staying in the house. My second choice would have been the actual hurricane, but there wouldn't have been much room for a dog's interpretation during that kind of chaos.

I wrote China's character as largely reactive to Skeetah. A dog's devotion for its master connects the two emotionally, and the dog's life is mainly dictated by the choices of its owner. Writing this way came naturally due to that, and also because of China's and Skeetah's mutual respect for one another. Skeetah's wants are China's wants, and often, vice versa. The duality of that respect is shown in the two chicken scenes here: First, China stops chasing them because Skeetah tells her to, and then Skeetah lets her attack a chicken because he recognizes the need in her to fight at that moment.

I think the biggest change I made here was the second chicken scene. It is implied in the book by Skeetah's guilty smile that he had something to do with China killing the chicken, but I made it a test of his recognition of China's nature. I also further connected Esch's assault on Manny to China's dog fighting by making the chicken attack an indirect result of the assault. Esch compares herself to China when beating up Manny, and in turn, that victory inspires China.


End file.
